Friday, January 27, 2017

Tompkins County
Public Library and the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation today
announced newly-appointed leadership for their respective boards.

Library Director Susan
Currie said the Library’s Board of Trustees again tapped the team of Bruce Ryan
and Kenneth McClane to serve as president and vice president. Thompson Terry of
Newfield will serve as treasurer, and Dr. Janet Corson-Rikert was elected to
the secretary post.

Ryan, of Groton, has
served as a Trustee since 2011, and is entering his second term as president.
He is the dean of external relations at Tompkins Cortland Community College and
holds degrees from Ithaca College, Syracuse University and Capella University.

McClane, an acclaimed
author and academic, has lived in Tompkins County for nearly 50 years. He is
the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Literature Emeritus and
former Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell
University.

McClane and Ryan will be
joined on the Library’s Executive Committee by Thompson Terry, an independent
quantitative risk analyst and owner of Thompson Terry and Associates, and
Corson-Rikert a Harvard University graduate and retired associate vice
president of campus health and director of Cornell University’s Gannett Health
Services.

“We are honored to have
such an esteemed group of individuals leading our Board of Trustees,” Currie
said. “Each member of our Executive Committee embraces the mission and vision
of our public library and is dedicated to ensuring that TCPL remains a
treasured cornerstone of our community.”

Currie noted that in
addition to electing a new slate of officers, TCPL’s Board of Trustees bid
farewell to longtime treasurer Cynthia Nicholson, liaison to the Friends of the
Tompkins County Public Library Jack Clark, and former secretary Peter McCracken,
who pioneered the Library Foundation’s 2016 LEGO Build.

Library Foundation
Executive Director Suzanne Smith Jablonski also announced the core leadership
team of the Foundation’s Board of Directors—an 11-member board charged with
championing philanthropic support and enhancing opportunities for the Library’s
continued growth and service.

Returning President,
Mickie Sanders-Jauquet, a former Peace Corps volunteer and public school
educator, was elected for a second term at the helm of the Foundation’s Board
of Directors.

McDaniel is the vice
president and director of economic development services for Tompkins County
Area Development. Littman has a background in accounting and works with several
area real estate companies on issues related to management and development.

Foundation Board member
Rick Hendrick was elected for another term and Lynnette Scofield concluded her
service to the Board during its reorganizational meeting.

“With the successful
conclusion of our 21st Century Library Campaign, the
Foundation’s Board of Directors is poised to help lead our library into
the future,” Smith Jablonski said. “Members of our Executive Committee and
Board have embraced their roles as library supporters, and we are honored to
have them advocating on behalf of the incredible work of our public library.”

For information about
joining the Library’s Board of Trustees or the Tompkins County Public Library
Foundation’s Board of Directors, contact Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at cwheeler@tcpl.org or (607) 275-1548.

In an ongoing effort to meet patron needs,
Tompkins County Public Library Director Susan Currie has announced plans to
provide remote programs and services during the Library’s February 10 through
19th renovation closure.

“We recognize just how vital access to library
programs and services is to our community, Currie said, “and our staff members
have shown a sincere dedication to providing that access by organizing a series
of off-site programs and service points while we are closed.”

The following programs have been planned:

·

Family Storytime, Tuesday, February 14 from 11
a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Center Ithaca—children and their caregivers will be
treated to a special Valentine’s Day-themed storytime, complete with fun-filled
books, stories and songs.

Break for Books, Monday, February 13 at noon,
Wednesday, February 15 at noon and Thursday, February 16 at 8 p.m.—book lovers
are invited to join TCPL Access and Circulation Services Librarian Asia Bonacci
for special editions of the popular Facebook virtual book club, Break for
Books. Readers are encouraged to visit the Library’s Facebook page,
facebook.com/tcplny, during any of these times to share what they’re reading
and learn about other titles.

Young Adult Book Club, Wednesday, February 15 at
4:30 p.m. at Buffalo Street Books—Students in grades six through 12 are invited
to attend a free meeting of the Library’s Young Adult Book Club. This
month’s meeting will include a judgment-free discussion of“Charles and
Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith.” Refreshments will be provided. Free
copies of the book are available at the Youth Services Reference Desk for new
and returning Club members.

Digital Download Training, Thursday, February 16
from 11:30 to 2 p.m. at the YMCA of Ithaca at Tompkins County—library staff
members will be on-hand during the YMCA’s Healthy Senior Fair to offer training
on downloading e-Books, music and more to smartphones, e-Readers and tablets. A
library card from one of the Finger Lakes Library System’s 33-member libraries
is required. Information and assistance about downloads will be available
throughout the closure via email at askalibrarian@tcpl.org.

The Library has also partnered with the Tompkins
County Office for the Aging to make tax forms available at the COFA office, 214
West State Street, during the closure.

A cache of resources are also available through
the Library’s website—tcpl.org--including digital downloads of eBooks through
the OverDrive Digital Download Service, Hoopla’s streaming video platform,
TumbleBooks, which offers animated, talking picture books, read-along chapter
books and more for young readers, and Zinio, the world’s largest newsstand.

No library materials will be due during the
closure and DVD borrowing limits will be doubled.

The Library’s renovation project is being overseen
by Tompkins County Facilities, with design services by QPK Design. Bouley
Construction will serve as the project’s principle contractor.

Made possible through public support of the
Tompkins County Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Library
Campaign, a New York State and Municipalities Program Grant, sponsored by
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, a New York State Public Library Construction
Grant sponsored by the Finger Lakes Library System, and County maintenance
funds, Library renovations will also include the construction of a digital
learning lab, a teen center and additional public meeting space, to be
completed this spring.

For more information about the closure or upcoming
renovations, contact Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at cwheeler@tcpl.org
or (607) 275-1548.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Families
can now experience the fun of Tompkins County Public Library’s popular
storytimes from the comfort of their own homes with “Storytime-To-Go” kits.

Available
in the Library’s Youth Services Department, “Storytime-To-Go” kits contains
five thematic books, a CD, companion toys or puzzles, song/rhyme cards and
activities and resources to help caregivers and educators create and share
engaging learning experiences through storytimes.

“We want to inspire every family to talk, sing, read, write and
play with their children as often as they can,” said Youth Services Librarian
Kate DeVoe. “We hope that having these new kits, bundled and ready to go, will
make that as easy and fun as possible.”

Kits
can be borrowed for three weeks and are available in a variety of themes for
multiple age groups. Available kits, include: Backyard Science, Funny
Books, Ready to Read, Hands on Learners: Baby and Toddler, Building and
Engineering and Crafty Kids. Read-Along Songs and Read-Along Songs for Babies
kits are also available through support from the Family Reading Partnership.

For
more information or to borrow a kit, visit the Library’s Youth Services
Department or call (607) 272-4557 extension 275.

Funding for “Storytime-To-Go”
kits has been made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation
through generous support from the Helen T. Howland Foundation of the Community
Foundation of Tompkins County.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Young
adults are invited to exercise their creative muscles during weekly teen
writing workshops at the Tompkins County Public Library, Thursdays, February 2
through April 20 at 4:45 p.m. in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room.

These
hour-long classes will be facilitated by Ithaca College writing students,
Amanda Livingston and Alexa Salvato, and include exercises, prompts and
opportunities to workshop original pieces.

Each
session will be unique, and participants are encouraged to sign up for one or
all of these inspiring workshops.

Tompkins
County Public Library, in partnership with the Multicultural Resource Center’s
New Jim Crow Community Read, will host a free screening of “The House I Live
In,” Thursday, January 26 at 6 p.m. in the BorgWarner Community Room.

Winner
of the Sundance Film Festival’s top documentary honor, “The House I Live In”
explores the financial and societal costs of the government’s war on drugs,
while making a case for drug use as a public health crisis not a criminal
justice pandemic.

This
film is intended for an adult audience.

Since
March 2016, the Multicultural Resource Center’s Community Read has galvanized more than 30 community organizations in the
development of a plan to study and ultimately take action to locally confront
mass incarceration.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Tompkins
County Public Library and the Ithaca College Film Society will partner for a
free, facilitated screening of “A Serious Man,” Wednesday, January 25 at 6 p.m. in the
BorgWarner Community Room.

Directed
by the Coen Brothers, “A Serious Man,” follows Midwestern physics teacher,
Larry Gopnik, as he searches for meaning in the chaotic events consuming his
life. This 2009 black-comedy-drama is a cult favorite and a must-see for fans
of the Coen brand of humor.

Ithaca
College Film Society members, Brett Rogalsky and Jack Warner, will offer an
introduction to the film, which marks the first in a series of screenings to be
offered by the Library at the ICFS.